Responsible Tourism

Florence Art & Discovery Tour

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Florence Art & Discovery Sample Tour

4 Nights

DAY 1
Arrive into Florence by your preferred choice of transport. You'll have time to settle in and explore the city on foot before dinner.

Day 2
You'll start your tour with a visit to the Piazza Michelangelo to see the breathtaking views of Florence's amazing domes and spires. Its then time to explore the city, starting with Brunelleschi's awe-inspiring Duomo (cathedral). From here it's a short stroll to the daunting Piazzale degli Uffizzi, home to the world renowned Uffizi Gallery (the holy grail of Renaissance art)! Spend a few hours in the masterpiece crammed hallowed rooms before finishing your tour at the Ponte Vecchio to see fantastic views of the Florentine hills.

Day 3
Today first stop is the Accademia Gallery to get a glimpse of Michelangelo's monumental statue of "David". From here a short stroll leads you to the Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia to see Castagno's fresco of the "Last Supper". A visit to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum is a perfect pick me up for art weary students. Thanks to Dan Brown this great painter is popular once again and this museum offers an interactive insight into the machines that featured in the Da Vinci codes.

Day 4
Escape the crowds today with a walk to the Oltrano district where you'll see the majestic Pitti Palace and stroll through the Boboli Gardens. The Palace is home to the city's modern art gallery, the Silver museum (the infamous Medici family's treasure) as well as the ceramic and costume museums. .

Day 5
Time allowing, students may have the opportunity for last minute shopping before departing for the UK.

Visits can be made to:

The Uffizi
The gallery's wonderful collection is arranged to illustrate the evolving story of Florentine art. Some of the most famous pieces are in rooms 7-18; they include Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Titian's Venus of Urbino, Michelangelo's Holy Family and Piero della Francesca's Duke & Duchess of Urbino.

Cappelle Medici (chapel)
Cappelle Medici is a dome of colored marble. Marble tombs of the Medici family anchored high on the hexagonal dome walls carry the Medici coat of arms. Decorative inlaid semiprecious stones are cut to such precision that seams are nearly invisible to the naked eye

Modern Art Museum (Palazzo Pitti)
Situated on the top floor of the Pitti Palace , the museum consists of 30 rooms which were once royal apartments. The varied collection, comprises works which were donated by private collectors, once belonged to grand dukes and also paintings brought by the state, has everything from neo-classical to early 20th century art.

Galleria dell' Accademia
The Accademia di Belle Arti was Europe's first school of drawing. The Academy Gallery houses works of Italian sculptors like Michelangelo (main gallery), including the original David.

Bargello Museum
The National Museum has its setting in one of the oldest buildings in Florence and one of the most beautiful in Italy, which was begun in 1255. Initially the headquarters of the Capitano del Popolo and later of the Podestà, in the sixteenth century it became the residence of the Bargello or head of police spies from which it took its name. The building's use as a National Museum began in the mid-nineteenth century, and nowadays is the setting mainly for works of sculpture and many examples of the decorative arts.

Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio, a monument of exceptional artistic and historic importance, has been the city's political center over the centuries. The building was erected as the seat of the Priors of the Guilds, probably according to the plans of Arnolfo di Cambio (XIII-XIV centuries).

Cappelle Brancacci (chapel)
The church of Santa Maria del Carmine houses one of the greatest tributes to painting of all time: the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, begun by Masolino and Masaccio, and finished by Filippo Lippi after the latter's death. The recent lengthy restoration brought to light the evenness of the large decorative cycle that was conceived by Masolino and Masaccio in strict collaboration.

Boboli Gardens
When the Medici bought the Palazzo Pitti in 1549 they also acquired large pieces of land behind the Palace, some of it previously owned by the Bogoli family. Tribolo designed the garden in 1549, containing antique and Renaissance statues, fountains and other Mannerist embellishments.

San Marco Museum
Opened to the public in 1869, this museum houses the largest collection of sacred art in Florence including a sweeping fresco by Giovanni Antonio Sogliani and a superb collection of works by Mariotto Albertinelli.

Duomo (main church)
The remarkable Duomo, of Santa Maria del Fiore, with its pink, white and green marble façade and characteristic dome, dominates the city's skyline. The building took almost two centuries to build (and even then the façade wasn't completed until the 19th century), and is the fourth-largest cathedral in the world. It also houses the crypt of Santa Reparata.

 

 

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